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Some families are eager to hold regular family reunions, while others would prefer not to go through the ordeal of rounding everyone up. This week, write about a family reunion you’ve attended, or one you’ve heard stories about. Was the event hosted by your family or someone else’s? Did everyone go on a trip together, or did it take place at someone’s house? There is bound to be some drama when families get together, so don’t forget to include some juicy details!
Unnameable Books is a bookstore located in the heart of Prospect Heights, Brooklyn. Founded as “Adam’s Books” before being renamed, the store specializes in poetry, has an eclectic collection of used books, and carries work from many small independent presses.
In his poem "Lament," Thom Gunn writes, "I think back to the scented summer night / We talked between our sleeping bags, below / A molten field of stars five years ago: / I was so tickled by your mind's light touch / I couldn't sleep, you made me laugh too much, / Though I was tired and begged you to leave off." This week, try and remember one of those nights when you and a loved one stayed up all night, too busy telling stories and enjoying each other's company to sleep. Write a scene that encapsulates the feeling of the quote above, whether it's set during a summer camping trip with a best friend, catching up with a cousin during a family reunion, or just an average weeknight spent staying up past your bedtime with your siblings or parents.
For the ninth installment of our Winners on Winning series, we spoke with Jacob Newberry, who won the Ploughshares Emerging Writer's Contest in nonfiction for his essay What You Will Do. The prize, given annually in poetry, fiction, and nonfiction, includes $1,000 and publication in Ploughshares. Newberry is originally from the Mississippi coast, and is a PhD student in creative writing, with an emphasis in poetry, at Florida State University.
Has winning this award, or previous awards, changed the way you approach your work?
The awards I've won, and this one in particular, have given me a very tangible validation for my writing. I think we can all understand how nice this might feel when it's never happened, but it's more than a nice feeling: It's an important form of motivation. There were many times when I was just starting to write when I'd convince myself that I wasn't any good at it at all. In the first workshop I ever took, which was when I was working on an MA (not in creative writing), most of the people in the class were workshop pros and were actually quite hostile toward me. They took a lot of opportunities not just to tear down the work (which needed tearing down) but to really tear down my ambition altogether. At the time, I was new enough to writing that it was pretty damaging. The effect was that I stopped believing in my skills as a writer for a while, though I never stopped writing.
Once I started winning awards and seeing things in print, though, I stopped doubting and fearing my ambition. And if that self-doubt ever creeps up on me again, I can remember that I had the same feeling of worry and panic and confusion when I was writing the pieces that won these awards, and so I should spend the energy on the writing and not on unfounded panic.
The bottom line is that winning hasn't changed the way I write. If it had, I suspect it would be only for the worse. As I said, it's really been a way of mitigating the self-doubt that all writers experience when we're not writing. So when I step away from the page, that's when the self-sabotage might begin. The difference now is that I just don't let it begin at all.
Have you ever entered a contest that you didn't win?
I've entered plenty of contests that I didn't win. Not winning those contests actually gave me a better sense of perspective once I did start winning. All awards are about quality writing to a large extent, of course, but there's also a really unknowable percentage of it that's just chance. Who are the first readers of your submission, and what if their taste is simply different from yours (or the final judge's)? What effect does submitting late or early or right in the middle have on the time and attention given to your piece? What if the editor tells you she absolutely loves your poem about Jerusalem, but she just published some Jerusalem poems last issue, and now it's too soon to revisit that topic? (The last one happened to me.)
What advice would you offer to writers thinking of submitting to writing contests?
Save your very best work and submit it only to contests that you'd be proud to win or place in. If winning that contest would be an important enough achievement for you and the contest requires a fee, then pay it. Otherwise, never pay for a contest that doesn't give you a subscription in return.
For more Winners on Winning, read the current issue of Poets & Writers Magazine, and check back next Wednesday for a new installment.
The powerHouse Arena—a self-proclaimed laboratory for creative thought—is a gallery, boutique, bookstore, performance, and events space located in Brooklyn’s Dumbo neighborhood. The space is home to the art book publisher, powerHouse Books, and hosts book launch parties, readings and signings, and conversations for a host of voices in contemporary literature. The store carries a curated selection of design and photography books, along with a discriminating selection of nonfiction, lifestyle, illustrated, and New York-themed books.
Spoonbill & Sugartown, Booksellers was established in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Williamsburg in 1999. The shop specializes in used, rare, and new books on contemporary art, architecture, and various design fields with an emphasis on imported or hard-to-find selections. Thousands of books are hand-picked for clientele from the eclectic collection of philosophy, literature, cinema, and children’s books.
In 2009, Rebecca Fitting and Jessica Stockon Bagnulo opened Greenlight Bookstore in Fort Greene, Brooklyn, with the support of the Fort Greene Association and a Community Lender Program. This independent bookstore carries a robust selection in a wide variety of genres, and has a full calendar of events for adults and children.
It's easy to slip into a bad attitude, and even easier once you're there to stew in all that negativity. For most it's a passing phase, but for some it can color their whole outlook on life. Would you describe yourself as a cynic? If not, do you know someone who fits the bill? Today, write down what happens to you using a cynical perspective. If you keep a journal, compare today's entry with those of previous—perhaps more positive—days and note the similarities and differences in style, tone, and word usage.
Shakespeare & Co. is an iconic Manhattan bookstore in the Upper East Side neighborhood founded in 1983. The store is adjacent to the Hunter College campus and includes a high-quality café. Their second location is in the Upper West Side on Broadway.
With the strong support of the Morningside Heights community and the faculty and administration of Columbia University, Book Culture is a true community bookstore. Founded in 1997, the store features new and classic fiction and nonfiction, cookbooks, mystery novels, graphic novels, home and craft books, and travel guides. They host numerous readings and literary events throughout the year. The bookstore has four locations, including two in Manhattan, one in Long Island City, and one in Pittsford, New York.
